Cash could solve school motivational problem

We spend four years of our lives trying to juggle the stresses of school, a social life, extracurricular activities and jobs, and it?s not always easy to stay motivated to do those necessary things. But would creating your own curriculum or getting paid to go to school keep you motivated throughout the year?

Educational specialists are currently discussing what motivates students to succeed in school. There are about three basic schools of thought. There is the age old philosophy, utilized by the majority of schools in this country, that if students exceed certain standards, then they will be rewarded with a good grade. Another strategy is a new one that has been tested on students that don?t find good grades a compelling motivation ? give them cash for success. The third school of thought preaches that no form of reward actually motivates students to work to their full potential, so, students should only be provided constructive criticism and should be able to determine their own curriculum so that they remain interested and engaged.

Daniel Pink, author of Drive: the Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us, argues that the traditional ?carrot-stick? method of giving a single reward ? such as a good grade or gold star ? for doing the right thing doesn?t work. Rather, he believes that students must learn to be their own motivators, stating that the system hinders our ability to thrive in the modern day workplace by limiting creative thinking. Pink believes that bribes are detrimental to students? development, and will inhibit their ability to succeed outside of school. It?s hard to believe that this is entirely true, considering how prominent bribes are in our lives. Even in the workforce, are we not bribed constantly with paychecks? Pink?s entire philosophy seems far-fetched, extreme and impractical.

Pink believes that an independent curriculum should be implemented early in students? careers. Can you imagine being asked as a seven?year?old to design your own education? Would anyone have chosen anything besides P.E. and coloring? While Pink may be able to justify studying only such topics, most seven?year?olds? interests evolve dramatically over time. The whole point of our curriculum is to produce well-rounded students exposed to a variety of well-rounded different disciplines so we have a basis in everything. Pink is really only catering to the ?ideal? student; by doing so he ignores the needs of the thousands of students in this country that struggle with motivation.

On the opposite side of the spectrum from Pink, Harvard economist Roland Fryer Jr. recently published the results of a multi-year study on whether cold hard cash is the way to unmotivated kids. This contrasting school of thought addresses the issue of students, especially in inner-city schools, dropping out of high school in favor of working. He conducted this experiment in Dallas, Chicago, Washington D.C. and New York City, with monetary incentives given for satisfying a range of requirements including getting good grades, avoiding problems with attendance and receiving high test scores. His results were mixed. Some cities showed very positive results, while others showed no effect at all.

This program has the potential to be great, and to really cater to unmotivated students. While it?s vital to instill an interest in education at an early age, schools shouldn?t begin to pay students until high school; it?s probably not a good idea to be handing out money to third graders.

The biggest issue that school systems will face, even greater than the hundreds of death threats that Fryer received during his experiment, is the source of the money. If the world operated with Monopoly money, then the whole world would be fine. But unfortunately, since the US government is over $12 trillion in debt, there is not clear source for these funds. While the idea of being paid for all of the hard work we do to succeed in school is quite appealing, the financial restraints make it highly unrealistic. If the other option is Pink?s completely flawed idea, however then efforts should be made to find available funds, no matter the consequences.